What is Business Voices™ ?
The BNI Foundation has a long, proud legacy of helping out where schools have needed extra funding for projects not provided for by school districts or state funding. A pivotal factor of our philanthropic work was the creation of the Business Voices initiative to provide even more to the schools which have with the greatest needs.
Our initiative pairs BNI members and concerned, engaged and motivated corporations, service clubs and community groups with schools and educational organizations to help them find the resources they need to have maximum impact on the kids of our communities.
BNI (Business Network International) is ground zero for this initiative, which is rapidly expanding to include many collaborative partners. Within the Business Voices movement, we agree that BNI represents our rally cry: Bureaucracy Not Involved!
Support looks different depending on what the schools or educational organizations identify as their greatest challenges. In some communities, poverty is one of the top challenges. Kids need food to eat or socks and underwear to wear! In other communities it may be bullying, eating disorders, or alcohol use. That is why we recommend listening to what the schools, and even the students, identify as their unique challenges. Wherever there are young people, there are ways they will benefit from having us in their stories.
We call this work cause networking — and who better to lead the way with cause networking than the world’s largest, most successful networking organization?
I am really glad to hear about your BNI Foundation Business Voices movement. Business all over the world benefits when we work together to create a flow of resources where they are needed at a time when they seem to be blocked by a paralyzing bureaucracy. All the best to you as you press on in this worthy endeavor! ~Richard Branson
Why Business Voices™ ?
Inspired by a cry from an inner-city community in Ferguson, MO, Elisabeth Misner responded to one parent’s televised plea for help with the dire situation in that community’s schools by starting the Business Voices movement as an initiative of the BNI Foundation. Business Voices is a global movement of businesspeople using their time, talent, knowledge, and experience to meet children’s educational needs. Business Voices is active in more than 15 countries around the world!
Entrepreneurs have a unique way of viewing challenges and addressing problems,” Elisabeth Misner explains. “When business owners find out more about what the needs of local schools and educational organizations are, they are able to provide creative and effective solutions that are not wrapped in a lot of red tape.”
Start a Business Voices™ Team
Business Voices is Creating a Conduit Between Business and Education to Meet Children’s Educational Needs
If you are interested in starting a Business Voices Team, please email
Please Include: Region Name – Chapter Name – Team Liaison Contact Info
Business Voices™ Toolkit
Welcome to the Business Voices movement. We are a global group of business owners and professionals who believe we can make a real difference in kids’ lives by helping with their educational needs.
You have heard about Business Voices, learned just enough about our movement to know that you want to know more, and now you are asking, “What’s next? How do I help?
We are glad you asked!
We created this Business Voices Toolkit to help you along the way. Within the pages of our toolkit, you will find real stories of real business people JUST LIKE YOU who have joined our efforts and are seeing kids changing the trajectory of their lives day by day. Who knows? Maybe someday it will be your story that we are sharing with others as this movement continues to grow and bring more people together.
Ensure that all children obtain a quality education now and in the future.